TSAMTO, February 15. According to Bruno Even, Chief Executive Officer of Airbus Helicopters, flight tests of the first H-160 helicopter designed for the French Navy have begun at the company's enterprise in the south of France.
As reported by TSAMTO, on February 10, 2020, the Directorate General for Armaments of the Ministry of the Armed Forces of France (DGA) signed a contract with Airbus Helicopters for the supply of four H-160 helicopters, which will be used by the French Navy for search and rescue operations. The agreement is implemented jointly by Airbus Helicopters, Babcock and Safran Helicopter Engines.
In May 2021, DGA exercised an option to supply the French Navy with two additional H-160. All six vehicles will be delivered in a search and rescue configuration.
As planned, the French Navy will begin using helicopters for their intended purpose in 2022 and will operate them for about ten years. This temporary solution will allow the French fleet to fill the gap that is formed after the decommissioning of obsolete Alouette-3 helicopters before the delivery of the new H-160M "Cheetah" (Guepard), ordered under the HIL light interspecies helicopter program (Helicopter Interarmees Leger).
From May 2022, the H-160 helicopters will be based at the Lanveoc-Pulmic base (Brittany), Cherbourg Airport (Normandy) and the Hyeres Naval Air Base (Provence).
The helicopters will be used by the French Navy to conduct search and rescue operations on the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts. Six H-160s will be equipped with a rescue winch and a modular cabin that can be reconfigured to perform various tasks. The H-160 will be certified to use night vision goggles.
As part of the HIL light interspecies helicopter delivery program, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces intends to purchase 169 H-160M helicopters, which will replace the obsolete helicopter equipment of five types of vehicles based on a single platform, which is in service with the French Armed Forces.
In December 2021, as part of the HIL program, DGA signed a contract with Airbus Helicopters for the development of prototypes and the delivery of the first batch of 30 H-160M helicopters (21 units for the SV, 8 units for the Navy and 1 unit for the Air Force). The first deliveries of the H-160M "Cheetah" are scheduled for 2027.
